Category: Technology
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Out of This World! The Amateur’s Guide to Making Your Own Satellite
What could you do with $10,000? Take a trip around the world? Refit the kitchen or replace the ageing car? Perhaps you would invest it in stocks and shares? But what would you say to building and launching your very own satellite? Forget paying to have a star named after you: Technology is now smaller…
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“Did You Pack Your Own Bags?” and other pointless airport security questions…
We’re off on our holidays, but (groan) we are stuck in the airport because our plane has been delayed – again! The reward for hours of waiting for security and immigration checks is… even more waiting! It’s been a bit like queueing to get on a ride at DisneyLand: The line deceptively curves and bends…
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Earn a Nobel Prize in your Lunch-Break! The Best “Citizen Science” Games Reviewed!
Have you ever felt like you could be an undiscovered genius? Well scientists have now come up with ingenious ways of you using your brain to push back the boundaries of science… by playing video games! So if you’d like the chance to see if you’re the next Einstein (without the hair) just put down…
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Why ice cream tastes SO good! (Even on a rollercoaster)
We all have our personal weaknesses. A quick survey in the office told me that chocolate or cigarette addictions are common frailties. My wife’s Achilles heel is buying handbags. My weak spot? Eating ice cream. Light, creamy and sweet… Ice cream is perhaps the ultimate in feel-good foods. Having a bad day? An ice cream…
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Art and Science: If a Picture Could Say a Thousand Gigabytes…
I don’t like big numbers. There are nine billion people in the world, but how many of us can honestly imagine of more than a couple thousand people? When you look at the moon on a clear night, it looks pretty close. But it’s actually over 240 thousand miles away! I think Norwich is a…
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Geek-Gadget of the Week: The SmartPen!
Writing, just who does that anymore? With so much work being done on computers these days, the poor old pen has pretty much been consigned to the stationary drawer. Technology is now so portable that we can stay ‘connected’ in every conceivable situation: laptops for coffee-shop working, iPads and PDAs while commuting, and Smartphones when…
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Interview with a Bomb Disposal Expert: Meet the man who saved Trowbridge Town!
Should you cut the red wire or the blue wire? Quick! Time is running out! Red digits are already counting down from 10 seconds. With wire-cutters tentatively poised, a snip of the red wire and then… Wait! Is bomb disposal really anything like what we see in the movies? A few days ago, I wrote…
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Loyalty Cards: What the Supermarkets know about You!
I bet that you own at least one loyalty or ‘reward’ card. They sound like a great idea – You get money and points for just doing your normal grocery shop! Well, if you think you’re getting something for nothing, then you’re wrong…The barcode bleep is like the soundtrack to modern society. And in the 21st…
Doctor Stu's Science Blog 